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This quick and easy Asian ground beef and cabbage stir fry is packed with flavor and perfect for weeknights! It’s a delicious dish that is paleo and Whole30-friendly and comes together in under 30 minutes. Serve it over rice, cauliflower rice, or even noodles!
What Makes This Recipe Great
If you’ve tried my Easy Instant Pot Cabbage Soup you know how much I love ground beef and cabbage recipes. They really are the perfect pair, which is why these two ingredients are so popular together.
I also love a good ground beef stir fry that comes together quickly. Anytime I’m too lazy or busy to cook, I can always quickly whip a stir fry dish as long as I have veggies and protein in my fridge. This time, I had some ground beef, cabbage, and other yummy veggies.
This delicious ground beef stir fry recipe came together on one such night and my whole family fell in love with it immediately. It takes under 30 minutes, is super healthy, and has tons of flavor!
Watch a Quick Video of This Recipe
How to Make Ground Beef Stir Fry
In this stir-fry recipe, ground beef is cooked with garlic, ginger, and onion, then combined with cabbage and carrots. The whole thing is coated in the most amazing paleo stir fry sauce that resembles Korean barbecue to me. It’s delicious with some rice, but if you are on the Whole30 or paleo diet you can always enjoy it with cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles.
Ingredient Notes
Ground Beef & Cabbage Stir Fry
- Ground beef: Ground beef with cabbage is famously a perfect pair. But if you don’t eat red meat or don’t have it on hand, ground turkey will also work.
- Avocado oil: Or any of your other favorite cooking oil will work.
- Onion: One onion (use the variety of your choice), chopped.
- Garlic: Freshly minced garlic cloves or a jar of minced garlic will work for this.
- Ginger: I like to use fresh ginger, grated. You can use powdered ginger in a pinch.
- Cabbage: You’ll need 1 head of cabbage, thinly sliced.
- Carrot: I find that shredded carrot works best, but slice how you prefer.
- Salt & Pepper: Use to taste.
- Garnish: I like to top my ground beef stir fry with sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds, but they are completely optional!
Stir Fry Sauce Ingredients
- Coconut aminos: This is a soy-free and grain-free version of soy sauce. It’s delicious and adds a slight sweetness to the sauce without any added brown sugar! This is my favorite brand.
- Rice vinegar: If you don’t have rice vinegar on hand, apple cider vinegar will work.
- Sesame oil
- Crushed red pepper flakes: You can omit this for less spice!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Stir together all ingredients for the paleo stir-fry sauce. Set aside.
Step 2: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook stirring until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in ginger and garlic until fragrant.
Step 3: Add ground beef and cook until browned, breaking it up with a wooden spoon – about 5 minutes.
Step 4: Stir in cabbage, and carrots, and add the sauce you made. Cook stirring until the cabbage is wilted and the sauce is cooked down about 5 minutes.
Step 5: Taste to add salt and/or pepper. Serve warm, sprinkled with green onions and sesame seeds.
Recipe Variations
- Add more veggies: You can add cubed sweet potatoes, red bell pepper (or any color bell pepper!), broccoli, or double up on any of the veggies I’ve listed.
- Give it a kick: If you like a spicier stir fry, add more crushed red pepper to your stir fry sauce. If you want it milder, reduce the amount.
- Swap the protein: You can always swap the ground beef for ground turkey, ground chicken, or even ground pork.
Storage & Meal Prep Tips
- To save the leftovers of this ground beef stir fry, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. You can freeze for longer for up to a couple of weeks.
- Let the stir fry cool completely. Then grab your meal prep containers and add rice to each one. Top with individual portions of stir fry and seal tightly with the lid. Grab one for a quick lunch and microwave it for 2 minutes before serving.
Recipe FAQs
While I make this stir fry recipe with ground beef, you can use other proteins to vary it up! Ground chicken or turkey is a great option or even bite-sized pieces of chicken thighs or breasts. Use what you have on hand. That’s the beauty of stir fry- it’s really an “add what you have” kind of meal.
I personally love eating this ground beef stir fry over white rice. However, for a paleo or Whole30 option, you can serve it with cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, or grain-free noodles like shirataki noodles or spaghetti pasta.
Try These Whole30 & Paleo Recipes
Asian Sautéed Broccolini Recipe (Paleo, Whole30, Vegan)
Spicy Thai Basil Chicken Recipe (Paleo & Whole30)
Paleo Mongolian Chicken with Shishito Peppers (Whole30)
Easy Asian Ground Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry
Video
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1/2 cup coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Stir Fry
- 1 tbsp avocado oil, or your favorite cooking oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 inch ginger, grated
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 head of cabbage, thinly sliced – about 8 cups
- 1/2 cup shredded carrot
- Salt & pepper , to taste
- Green onion slices and sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Stir together all the sauce ingredients. Set aside.1/2 cup coconut aminos, 1 tbsp rice vinegar, 2 tsp sesame oil, 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and cook stirring until translucent, about 5 minutes.1 tbsp avocado oil, 1 onion
- Stir in ginger and garlic for 1 minute until fragrant. Add ground beef and cook until browned, breaking it up with a wooden spoon – about 5 minutes.4 garlic cloves, 1 inch ginger, 1 lb ground beef
- Stir in shredded cabbage, carrots, and the sauce. Cook stirring until the cabbage is wilted and the sauce is cooked down, about 5 minutes1 head of cabbage, 1/2 cup shredded carrot
- Taste to add salt and/or pepper. Serve warm, sprinkled with green onions and sesame seeds.Salt & pepper, Green onion slices and sesame seeds
Notes
Recipe Variations
- Add more veggies: You can add cubed sweet potatoes, red bell pepper (or any color bell pepper!), broccoli, or double up on any of the veggies I’ve listed.
- Give it a kick: If you like a spicier stir fry, add more crushed red pepper to your stir fry sauce. If you want it milder, reduce the amount.
- Swap the protein: You can always swap the ground beef for ground turkey, ground chicken, or even ground pork.
Storage Tips
- To save the leftovers of this ground beef stir fry, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. You can freeze for longer for up to a couple of weeks.
Meal Prep Tips
- Let the stir fry cool completely. Then grab your meal prep containers and add rice to each one. Top with individual portions of stir fry and seal tightly with the lid. Grab one for a quick lunch and microwave it for 2 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Easy and yummy! I doubled the ground beef to get a few more servings out of it. Good meal prep recipe.
Thank you so much!
Delicious! Easy to make. I doubled the sauce for extra flavor. Will definitely make again!
So happy you enjoyed it!2
Can you cook all the ingredients together?
You can but the texture won’t be ideal since the ingredients cook at different speeds. And the sauce will cook off if you add it too early.
Fast, easy, and so delicious!
Wow amazing recipe!!! 10++ thank you!!
Thank you… thank you… thank you
I am following AIP for a health issue. Most recipes have coconut milk or some sort of coconut. My husband really dislikes coconut.
I made this tonight, without sesame oil or pepper flakes, to make it phase 1 compliant.
We both loved it…and he didn’t taste any coconut 🙂
Thanks so much for the great recipe.
I’m so glad you can enjoy this recipe with your AIP diet! My mom was AIP for a while so I know it can be really hard at times. Thank you so much for leaving a review!!
This sounds so good. I want to make it tonight but do not have coconut aminos on hand. Could I use soy sauce instead?
Yes, that’s fine!
Good recipe. I wondered why you don’t have it labeled gluten-free.
Stellar recipe! Came home exhausted, scrolled through some cabbage-related recipe ideas, saw this one was easy and quick to prepare, jumped in and hoped for the best. I wasn’t quite prepared for how well coconut aminos and rice vinegar complement each other! I threw in some Sriracha instead of red pepper flakes and the taste is amazing. Thanks so much for sharing this!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you found a quick dish to make on a tiring day. 🙂
Thanks so much for this recipe. I made it twice and it was delicious both ways: once with ground beef and once with ground turkey. One tip, for economic purposes. I used half the cabbage and ground meat and half the sauce and it made 4 heaping servings, especially if eating with rice. We made it last week and again this week. It was so good. :). I will definitely be making on a regular basis.
So happy to hear that! Love your tip as well.